Business is business, as the old saying goes, but morality must not be thrown out the window. Witness the current subprime lending fiasco, where banks got greedy and did poor people wrong, and vice versa. Balancing the need to act in a business-like manner, as in pursuing profit and advantage first and foremost, with the need to act morally is not always easy, but it can be done.

Assembly services that display this balance must be credited for achieving a difficult feat.

Assembly Services: Buy American?

For years, "Buy American" was a battle cry of the American middle class. Then, slowly but surely, spurred on by the NAFTA trade agreement and Walmarts low prices, that era passed into the current one. The current era, in terms of assembly, is not necessarily a bad one. Countries like China, India, and Mexico assemble some fantastic products, in huge numbers, at prices the average American consumer can afford.

Meanwhile, people in those countries enjoy a previously rare privilege: a steady paycheck with more work coming in every day. But recently, as American unemployment ticks up towards 10 percent and blue-collar jobs are harder to come by, the "Buy American" credo has begun to make sense to many Americans.

American contractors, in this economy, are hungry for business and ready to work. In addition, "Buy American," depending on the product being assembled, may provide a compelling marketing strategy. Business decision makers looking to hire a contract assembly service are wise to at least consider the wishes of the "Buy American" crowd.

Contract Assembly: Voting Unions Out of the Picture

Foreign automobile manufacturers are producing cars in the southern states of America with considerably cheaper labor than the American car makers headquartered in Detroit.

Advantage: foreign car makers. Thats simple economics.

A large part of why American auto manufacturers pay more for the same work is the auto unions. There is something good to be said for unionization, but low labor costs isnt it. Contract assembly services, then, because theyre generally price-sensitive to the customer, do not traditionally deal with unions or unionized workers. If they did, they likely wouldnt have a business.

Avoiding unionized assembly services, however, does not mean ignoring the concerns of unions: respect for workers, safety regulations, and job security. In fact, the best contract assembly service should strive for all those things for their workers.

Business First, But Morality Matters

Contract assembly is a prime example of how intertwined capitalism and life actually are. Executives bring in business and workers get their hands dirty assembling products. When it works, it works for everyone. Making it work for everyone is made more difficult when profit collides with issues of morality such as national pride and the demands of unions.

More difficult, but definitely not impossible.

By keeping in mind that people making moral claims on businesses, though they may not be entirely right, should not be viewed as all wrong, either. Great business decision makers should be great listeners, too.

Sources

Assembly Magazine

MLive.com